


Colors

by kentuckygirl



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-10-14 09:03:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10533246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kentuckygirl/pseuds/kentuckygirl
Summary: Soulmate AU where everybody is born with a blank tattoo that doesn't show color until you meet your soulmate





	1. A Clean Slate

Betty is sat at Pops diner sipping on a milkshake with her best friend Archie across from her, telling her about his summer of concrete and music. She had known him for ages, pretty much as long as she could remember. She almost wishes she could forget the day she met him in the 1st grade, because she knew at that moment that she wanted to be his forever. And she thought she could be, except it wasn’t written in the stars. 

She had raced home after school eager to check the left shoulder of her body that was quite a pain to look at. She had mastered it though, once again grabbing her mother’s make up mirror and angling it just right at the one in the bathroom to hopefully see what she so desperately wanted. She pushed back the memory of how it felt to be met with the same image as always, a beautiful array of flowers.

Betty still fantasizes about what it would be like to have gotten the confirmation she needed that day. Dreams about what color her flowers would be, maybe red and pink, maybe blue. Hell they could be as orange as Archie’s hair if it meant he was her soulmate.

She’s brought back to their booth when she hears the door chime behind her, and sees Archie’s eyes focus on someone that wasn’t her. She too turned at the sound of a melodic voice, wholly out of place in a town like Riverdale.

She’s met with the sight of a truly stunning girl about her age, wearing a cloak as dark and beautiful as her eyes. Not that they focused on her for long, instead flitting to the right to her best friend with a dazzling smile on her face. Their introductions are brief and Betty has to count to 10 to calm the searing jealousy coursing through her as the brunette makes her exit. The girl, Veronica, may have left Pops but her presence remains with her and her ginger companion, and the taste of bile in her mouth.

The next day isn’t any easier, as Betty is forced to show her around the school, not knowing what to say to the girl besides useless facts and history of the place. She’s grateful when Kevin joins them on their tour, and even more glad when she lets Veronica know that her and Archie are, in fact, endgame.

“So he’s the color in your tattoo?” Veronica asks her, voice light.

Her heart clenches and she swallows the lump in her throat, shoots Kevin a look to help her but he doesn’t know what to say either. He departs with the excuse of having to get to class, despite that first bell doesn’t ring for another 20 minutes. Veronica watches as he leaves, then turns probing eyes onto her.

“I don’t have color,” Betty finally says. The unspoken word “yet” hangs between them.

Veronica’s beautifully sharp edges soften and she looks at her with something different in her eyes. “Me neither, but who has time to wait around for that?” Betty just shrugs, feeling sorry for herself. “My parents are soul mates, you know. They don’t have color either, but that doesn’t mean they’re not meant to be. Some people wait forever for their destiny, and some find true love on their own, without the universes help.”

Betty is surprised by that.

“That’s sweet, but I think I’d spend my life always looking anyways just to see. What would happen if your mom met her soul mate one day and her heart kept calling out to them? Would you continue on with the person you love, or would you eventually give in to fate?”

Betty finally looks over at Veronica, and realizes she’s said the wrong thing. The dark haired girl stops walking and just looks at her, eyebrow furrowed and mouth open. As if she’s never thought of that before. That’s when Betty realizes she hadn’t thought of it before.

“Veronica, I didn’t mean anything by that, I don’t know why-”

“Betty,” she’s cut off. “We choose who we love. I think the soulmate connection is bullshit, quite frankly. We love people for who they are, not because the ‘universe’ tells us to. We control our own destiny.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” Betty is quick to try to placate the girl, irritated with herself for striking a nerve within the bombshell already.  
Veronica nods at her and they finish their tour.

 

By lunchtime, it’s like nothing happened earlier. Veronica is praising Archie for his music and then is somehow convincing Betty to try out for cheerleading with her.  
Betty finds herself asking Veronica to show her her moves. With a smirk, and the raise of a perfectly arched eyebrow, they’re off to do just that. 

They practice for about an hour before Veronica deems her ready, which Betty highly doubts but knows Cheryl isn’t going to let her in no matter how long they practice, so agrees anyways.

They’re little performance isn’t bad, perfectly in sync with each other and looking good while doing it. Cheryl isn’t impressed and Betty’s face starts to fall just like her heart.  
Then she’s being pulled towards the brunnette with a quiet “Don’t freak out, just trust me.”

Veronica kisses her and Betty has just enough time to react. The kiss is everything she always expected, their lips catch each others and press in just the right way, searing heat through Betty’s veins. Her face is growing hotter and she’s doing everything she can to move her lips in time with the clearly more experienced girl. She’s surprised she’s a little disappointed when Veronica starts to move away, but just like that their lips are together again and a soft moan escapes her mouth at the feeling.

They finally part and Betty knows there’s lipstick smeared across her face, and she puts in very little effort to wipe it away. Afraid that when she wipes it away it won’t be real anymore.

Betty knows she enjoyed the kiss, it’s everything she always wanted for her first one. She hears Cheryl dismiss it just like that and Betty tries not to be disappointed when she remembers that it wasn’t real. Not that she wanted it to be, but this is a big step for her and it’s just being written off like no big deal.

The blonde is surprised when she sticks up for her, and even more shocked when the redhead begrudgingly presses a uniform into her hands. She feels like she can finally be more than just Betty Cooper. She wonders if she’ll always get to feel this way with Veronica by her side, hopes so.

They skip into the locker room arm and arm to change into their uniforms together. Veronica dropping her clothes without a second thought right in front of Betty, who hesitantly followed suit. As much as she tried, the blonde's eyes wouldn’t stop flickering over the other girls exposed form until it was completely covered by blue and gold. Betty realized a second too late that she was taking significantly longer than Veronica to finish getting dressed.

The other girl noticed too and sidled up to Betty and twisted her around, offering to zip her new friend up. The zipper made it about halfway up her back before the brunette stopped, the air going completely still. Seconds passed and Betty was getting nervous, her nails already making their way against her palm.

“V?” she asked softly. “Is everything okay?”

Veronica pulled the zipper the rest of the way up immediately with a strangled, “Everything is fine. Let’s walk.”

Betty couldn’t figure out what just happened and what made the difference, but followed the other girl out of the room without questioning it.

 

What she didn’t know, was that Veronica caught a glimpse of vivid yellow flowers spread beautifully across the blonde’s shoulder.


	2. Intoxication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty and Veronica experience their first Blossom party

Betty Cooper wasn’t the most popular girl in Riverdale, but god did it not matter when she found   
a friend in Veronica. She had only met the girl a few days prior, but everything felt like it clicked   
into place whenever the brunette came around. Like now, with the girl striding towards her in   
heels as dangerous as her tongue, and a smile in her eyes upon laying them on the blonde. 

Betty’s breath catches in her throat as she eyes Veronica upon her arrival, who’s also wearing   
her assigned River Vixens uniform. She doesn’t realize how much she’s perving until her eyes   
leave Veronica’s sinfully short skirt and she realizes she’s been caught. 

“See something you like?” Veronica teases, one meticulously kept eyebrow raised. 

Betty flushes red and ignores the question, putting her books in her locker and turning to start   
walking towards the stadium, Veronica falling into step beside her. 

“Are you as nervous as I am?” Betty finally asks her. 

Today is their first game, and Betty knows she knows the routine and should easily get through   
it, but the anxiety in her takes over. Her nails cut into her palms harder the closer they get to the   
field, until Veronica’s hand gently unfurls her fingers, lacing them with her own. 

“I’ll never not be nervous, no matter how many times I’ve done this. But you, Betty Cooper, will   
keep me grounded, and I will keep you grounded, and we’ll do excellent together.” 

It was such simple words, said so matter of factly, that Betty really did believe it. She looked to   
their hands and gave Veronica’s a squeeze, thanking her for the comfort. 

 

Here’s the thing, Betty Cooper has never questioned herself until three days ago. Now her   
thoughts are filled with someone she didn’t even know existed, a someone of the same gender   
as her, which she had never considered before. She thinks about her when they’re together,   
when they’re apart, when Betty is alone in bed at night and she can recall perfectly what   
Veronica’s lips felt against hers. Fingers slipping into her underwear, where the confusion and   
guilt follows shortly after the pleasure. 

Betty’s face flushes as she realizes those same fingers are gripping the ones of the same girl   
she fantasized about only hours prior. The blonde takes her hand back shortly after that, having   
arrived on the grass with Veronica chirping in her ear about her cheer squad from New York. 

The routine goes without a hitch, Betty running up to Veronica afterwards and crushing her in a   
hug, high from the adrenaline rush. It’s short lived, since Cheryl comes over telling them to   
break it up so they can NOT find a room at the Blossom household, where they’re all going to   
for an after party. Betty is positively thrilled, having never been invited to one before. 

 

Betty has never been much of a drinker, so by the time she plops back down with her 3rd drink   
beside Veronica on one of Cheryl’s numerous couches, she’s feeling very pleasantly warm. The   
redhead in question gets everyone’s attention, setting down an empty bottle on the table and   
spinning it. When the bottle lands between her and Veronica, her alcohol addled brain comes up   
with a brilliant plan. 

When Archie rises to his feet, Betty puts a hand on his chest and pushes him back down. 

“The bottle landed between me and Veronica, so obviously there’s only one solution to this,”   
Betty says, before rising to her feet and dragging the bewildered brunette into the closet. It all   
happening too fast for anyone to challenge it. 

“Betty,” Veronica laughs. “What are you doing? I wasn’t going to do anything with Archie, I know   
he’s yours.” 

“That’s the thing, V. He’s not mine, he’s never been mine. He’s not my soulmate, and no matter   
how hard I try to force it, I don’t feel the things I should feel, the things I do feel.” 

Veronica looks at her carefully, appearing to be sizing her up. Finally, “And what do you feel,   
Bets?” 

Betty’s slightly wild eyes leave Veronica’s, instead dropping to the other girls mouth. The blonde   
takes a step towards her, but isn’t bold enough to close the rest of the distance. Luckily, the   
latina doesn’t feel that same resistance in her heart, molding their lips together for the second   
time. 

This kiss is similar to their first one, but with even more of that sizzle Cheryl was looking for.   
Betty’s moaning into her mouth, already overtaken by everything that is Veronica. She tries to   
take another step to bring them ever closer, but trips over her own feet, stumbling into her and   
accidentally shoving them against the wall. 

Betty’s got an apology on her lips until the brunette brings her face back to hers and slips her   
tongue in her mouth. It’s all a bit much at once, this being only her second kiss ever, so she’s   
almost grateful when Cheryl’s voice accompanies a pounding on the closet door telling them   
their borrowed time was up. 

Their eyes meet and Veronica very carefully wipes her own lipstick off Betty’s lips. 

“I’m completely intoxicated by you,” Betty breathes out, seemingly by accident. 

Something shifts in Veronica’s expression and she looks like she’s figuring out a way to say   
something. Betty is willing to be patient while she tries to form her words, but Cheryl is   
apparently not, since she comes barging in on their moment, shattering it completely. 

The redhead has a lot to say as she grabs the two girls by their arms, dragging them out of the   
closet. Betty almost laughs at the irony of it.


	3. About the Pull

Veronica Lodge had never been a particularly firm believer in soulmates. When she was younger, the other girls always looked at her weirdly, never quite trusted the only child in the room who didn’t constantly check their tattoo. It’s not Veronica’s parents fault per say, but they had never been shy about her knowing they weren’t “destined” to be. They had always been so nonchalant about it, so she had adopted a similar attitude.

Then there was Betty Cooper, who was not supposed to have color, and yet there it was. She hadn’t known what to do upon seeing it, deciding to keep it to herself until she could sort out what it meant. All she could do was think about it, the yellow flowers plaguing her thoughts all hours of the day.

Veronica had never been ignorant, she knew what it meant. She still didn’t have the balls to check her own tattoo, knowing that whatever colors she found would spook her into either telling Betty, or fleeing from her. Neither of which she was ready for.

Thanks to her attitude about it over the years, she had never really researched what the bond was allegedly supposed to be like. She fought herself for days, daring herself to just google it, to put her curiosity to rest. And when she did, the first 3 links she chose kind of contradicted themselves. She couldn’t trust the internet to sway her opinions on this, something that had been so irrelevant to her life for years, but now controls it completely.

That’s how she found herself outside the Blossom residence for the second time that week, Cheryl already smirking at her and dragging her inside without her uttering a single word. It felt like she was being taken to her very untimely death.

Cheryl guides her to her bedroom and upon the king sized bed placed in the middle of the room.

“I know why you’re here,” the redhead practically sings in glee.

Despite knowing that Veronica had sought her out, she still feels panic clutch at her heart, leaving her speechless for a moment.

“And what, pray-tell, do you think you know?” she finally asks.

Cheryl tilts her head, eerily wide smile still on display.

The brunette had never thought Cheryl Blossom of all people, could possibly be merciful, especially towards her. And yet, “Just ask your questions, Veronica. We both know you’re not ready for that particular answer.”

Everybody in Riverdale knows Cheryl has a soulmate, but nobody knows who. Some people had speculated it had been her twin brother, but it didn’t add up since everybody who had known her her whole life, remembers she didn’t always have color.

It’s several long moments before she finds the courage to begin.

“What does it feel like?”

Cheryl’s face loses its sharpness, and her voice gets soft. “It’s like everything you ever thought you knew turned out to be a lie. The more time you spend with them, the more that feeling overtakes you. It felt like I thought I knew what it felt like to be happy, for my life to be fulfilled, and then I felt like I had never known what true happiness was really like. It’s impossible to deny, impossible to ignore, and hopeless to get away from.”

“What do you mean?”

“I tried to escape it at first. But every time I would start running, my destination was always the same. Is always the same,” Cheryl’s voice is thick.

Veronica doesn’t want to push her too far, and not get the answers she needs.

“So it’s a pull then?”

“More than a pull. The closer you become, the more you let them in, the stronger everything gets. Everybody is different, some people connect on more than just a physical level. There’s been whisperings that some soulmates develop abilities that can further their connection. I know of a pair that can feel the other's strongest emotions, no matter the distance.”

“You really believe that, Cheryl?”

Cheryl sizes her up for a second, stares into her eyes for longer than what is comfortable. That’s when Veronica recognizes the intensity for what it is: truth.

“It’s you,” Veronica answers for her. “You and your soulmate.”

“I’ve never told anyone, neither have they. I know you’ll keep this secret, Lodge. Now we both know far too much.”

Veronica nods her assent to this, knowing the truth in that statement all too well. “So everybody is different then? That’s your big answer? That’s all I can base this whole scary situation off of?”

“I didn’t intend to spook you. Most soulmates connections don’t go that deep,” the cheer captain says.

“Then why tell me all of that?” Veronica inquiries, exasperated.

“Because you’ve only known yours for a single week, and you’re already more clearly merged with her than any pairing I’ve ever met. Including my own.”

 

Veronica leaves the Blossom household even more confused and scared than she was upon entering it.

**Author's Note:**

> I never heard of this one being done so I figured I'd give it the old college try. I'll be continuing this story, and publishing one shots that go in this universe. Such as the scene I imagine in this universe for the tryouts practice, and such. Feedback is appreciated.


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